Estimating, Job Cards, Customer Care and Workshop Records
Estimating
An estimate combines labour times, paint and materials, parts, sublet and tax. Use the refinish time schedule for paint, add consumables, and note blend and adjacent panels. Record betterment, depreciation and any customer-supplied parts. Hidden damage found after strip is handled by a supplement with photographs and written approval before work continues.
Job cards and records
A job card should carry customer details, registration, VIN, mileage, fuel level, keys, reported complaint, authorized work, parts used, technician time, quality check sign-off and date out. Record pre-existing damage on the check-in sheet. Keep invoices, warranty documents and hazardous waste records for the required period.
Customer care
Explain the fault in plain language, give realistic completion times, phone before extra work, and hand over a clean vehicle with the work explained. Handle complaints by listening, checking the job card and photos, and correcting genuine faults.
Worked example
A technician finds a cracked rail after stripping a front-end job. The correct step is to stop, photograph the damage, calculate the extra parts, labour and paint, and obtain written approval before continuing. Reasoning: unauthorized work is rarely paid, and the customer has a right to approve the change.
Traps
- Starting extra work without approval.
- No photos of pre-existing damage.
- Forgetting consumables, clips and calibration in the estimate.
- Promising a time before strip and measurement.